By virtue of our name, The Juice Standard is a juicery…but if you haven’t explored our whole menu–maybe even dabbled in our “chewables,” too—you’re missing out. Especially on our smoothies. Co-founder, COO and mum of three, Marcella Williams, is kinda the unofficial Smoothie Maven in these parts because she’s deft at creating some kickass combos that are so much more than bananas blitzed in a Vitamix. And one of the things the TJS smoothie menu loves to rely on is its “superfood upgrades”…a list of more than a dozen powders, seeds and greens that up the nutritional ante of any smoothie you choose to sip.

Now, amid TJS’s list of superfood upgrades is an add-in that’s growing in popularity thanks to companies like Moon Juice and Healthworks making it more available for home consumption: Maca. Maca is a special little somthin’ known in the health world as an “adaptogen”—a plant, root or herb that when introduced to the body it “adapts” to what the body needs. And when we talk about how maca adapts to what the body needs, it soothes the things that put stress on us. Anxiety. Inflammation. Lagging energy. Stuff that happens to us, but not stuff we want.

A Little About Adaptogens

Because they come from nature, adaptogens work with our insides to soothe and normalize us without meds or chems. They’re recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a real thing in the herbal medicine world, and some folks who are sensitive to medications (or just choose to steer clear) integrate adaptogens into their diet to either right a wrong that’s going on, or stay their already healthy self.

There’s a goodly list of ‘gens that do everything from energize (American Ginseng and reishi) to immunize (cordyceps) to calm us the eff down (ashwagandha). Filled with amino acids and key vitamins like B and E, maca’s benefits brilliantly tow the line as a combatant of more than a few stressors, making it an excellent addition to your diet if you want to better deal with life’s typical ups and downs. (Though key point here: As you know, we here at TJS  aren’t medical professionals, nor did we stay at a Holiday Inn last night or any nights of recent past. So any time you introduce something into your diet, do what we do and do it with great care or under a healthcare advocate’s watchful eye).

More About Maca

So back to magnificent maca. How doth it tow? It can be good for…

• Coping with stress
• Normalizing anxiety
• Decreasing menstrual symptoms
• Energy and stamina performance (and apply that to annnnny activity you wish)

It’s that last benefit that TJS particularly loves…especially our Smoothie Maven. “I clearly like maca because it enhances the libido…and I’m a Libido Lover!”

Right on, Marcella! Course she’s talking about The Juice Standard’s newest menu addition, the Libido Lover smoothie (which you can learn more about by clicking here). It’s just one in our menu’s lineup that contains this mystical, malty powder. Along with the Libido Lover’s other ingredients (alkaline water, cashews, cacao powder and nibs, banana, dates, avocado and mint), the smoothie’s secret weapon is the maca that can help give you energy and, er, “flow” in all the right places. Plus, it plays super nice with chocolate, coffee and vanilla flavors thanks to maca’s slightly sweet caramel notes. At home, experiment adding a teaspoon to steaming cups of creamy hot raw cacao or “Bulletproof”coffee; milkshakes or frappes; or even top your chia seed puddings, oatmeals and cereals. Better yet, upgrade your fave summertime dessert the old-old-old Newport Creamery way and make it a Dusty Sundae. (Holla to our ice cream-eating, East Coast readers.)

Adaptogen? AdaptoTHIS…and enhance your diet with maca, one of nature’s many culinary, restorative gifts that giveth as much as you taketh.